Kolkata: The deadline for submission of documents to the Election Commission of India (ECI) office regarding the right to the Trinamool Congress name and election symbol by the two rival factions in the party — one led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, and the other, a rebel but majority faction, led by expelled party legislator Ritabrata Banerjee — is ending at 5.30 pm Monday.
Now, after both factions have submitted their respective documents arguing in favour of their claims, the ball is in the court of the ECI to decide which of the two rival factions will ultimately be the holder of the party name and election symbol and subsequently the party funds.
The leaders of both factions have placed arguments before the ECI in favour of their respective claims.
On one hand, the “rebel but majority” faction led by Ritarbrata has claimed numerical supremacy both in the Trinamool Congress’ legislative party in the West Bengal Assembly and in the new “National Working Committee” formed last month. The faction has replaced Mamata Banerjee with veteran party legislator Arup Roy as the national chairperson.
The minority faction led by Mamata Banerjee depends on two main arguments in support of its claims to retain its rights over the party name and election symbol. The first argument is that since the legislators in the rebel camp, including Ritabrata, contested and won the elections on Trinamool Congress tickets and symbol after being nominated by Mamata Banerjee, they could not subsequently stake claim over the party’s name and election symbol.
The second argument is that the new National Working Committee announced by the rebel faction last month, replacing Mamata Banerjee as the party’s chairperson, Arup Roy, was not valid since it was based solely on the rebels’ numerical strength in the West Bengal Assembly.
The minority faction had argued that Mamata Banerjee, was re-elected as the national chairperson of the party for life at the convention in February 2022, where delegates not only from West Bengal but from other states were also present, and, hence the new national working committee announced just based on numerical supremacy in the state Assembly was not valid and could not stake claim on the party name and symbol.
However, at this juncture, Mamata Banerjee has expressed a subtle apprehension about the possibility of losing rights over the party name and electoral symbol.
In a social media live video message Saturday, she said the rebel camp’s only intention was to grab the party name, election symbol and subsequently the party funds.
“I know that ultimately you might not be able to get control over the election symbol. But even if you are successful in doing that, courtesy of the Election Commission of India, I will not be bothered. It is not what the common people and the grassroots workers accept. When I first got the symbol, I contested the election with it just one month and 22 days later. Now, if necessary, I will go out to the people with the symbol hanging around my neck. Will you be able to silence my voice? It will not be that easy. You will have to kill me to silence my voice,” Mamata Banerjee said in her live social media message.
